Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Don't you just hate it when you're watching the news and suddenly, in bold captions, taking up a quarter of the screen, is BREAKING NEWS and you automatically stop listening and start reading the caption!

Only, the caption is not exactly breaking news standard, which, in my books, is something really awful or absolutely wonderful. It's usually something tedious/boring and by this time you've lost track of the item you were listening to.

I only noticed this practice during T.V. coverage of the invasion of Iraq and so it was pretty important but now stations do it all the time for no apparent reason, it seems to me.

Anyway, I decided to use this technique for myself to announce my status viz-a-viz finding a literary agent. Only it's not what you expect because the fact is that I've made the momentus decision to actually stop looking for an agent.

If one phones me up, begging to take me on, then I might reconsider but until then, I've had enough.

And the reason is very simple.

I read, on a regular basis, two writing magazines: Mslexia and Writing Magazine and they both include interviews with agents and publishing editors and the message is loud and clear from both sources.

What they want in an author is someone who writes in a similiar way or on similiar themes to other writers so they can 'pidgeon-hole' the writing. They also want the writer to churn out a book a year, preferably as part of a series, and that meeting dead-lines is essential.

Sadly to say, I just can't do that. These days I have to pace myself not push myself. So, there's really no point in spending time and money sending off manuscripts to agents when I know that there's no way I can be the performing puppet that they're really looking for.

What I shall do, though, is research the smaller publishing houses, where costs are far less and where I'm hoping that there's less need to sign a two/three/more than three book deal. And if I find anywhere suitable, then I'll send off Cyprus Blues.

Things may be different when I've finished Winchester Blues, which I would class as a modern Agatha Christie who-dunnit, because I do intend to extend that into a series.

So, fingers crossed for a small publishing house...Watch this space...

Monday, 20 July 2009

Last Saturday, we needed a room for the night in Glastonbury so we could go to Mitzi's (one of John's sisters) birthday party but were having great difficulties in finding anywhere available.

Although Glastonbury is famous for its enormous open-air festival, there's actually a lot going on there all the year round, ranging from the Abbey Extravagenza (Dire Straits played this year) to groups playing in pubs to special spiritual celebration weeks.

So, the week we wanted to go, there was a Tibet week happening and our usual b and b's were full. But eventually, John found us a room at Chindit House, which he found on the web. The only drawback was that it was going to cost £125 for the night for the two of us, which is pricey by Glastonbury standards.

"It'd had better be good!" we muttered to ourselves more than once.

The weather that Saturday was foul - cloudy, cold and wet - so we reckoned that we could use the A303 for most of the way from Winchester, including the potential bottleneck miles before and after StoneHenge.

Big mistake.

Hence, it took much longer than expected and we arrived at Chindit House tired, fed-up and grissly, particularly since we had forgotten to take the address with us so could not, initially, find the place.

It's a large period house almost hidden behind an enormous hedge with no sign that it was a b and b outside but eventually we were directed there by some-one and since we could park directly outside, the impending argument about who should have brought directions was diverted. So, in we went, me not being exactly in the best of moods.

Peter Smith and Felicity outside the front door

But as soon as we walked in, the 'wow' factor kicked in. This was one hell of a beautiful house: an enormous hall, full of light, with windows and patio door at the far end, with views of the large garden (several acres in all) giving the impression of being in a large, beautiful decorated and furnished country home.

The hall

And our bedroom was absolutely gorgeous, as you can see from the picture below.

One of the bedrooms

What I particularly liked were the soothing colours, the shape of the room and windows, the chintzy curtains and the oh so comfortable bed with the softest of cotton sheets. And then there was the on-suite bathroom with everything you needed, all so clean and fresh and stylishly designed. And when John discovered that the full-length mirror opened up to shelving with such delights as nailpolish and footcream (a first for me anywhere we've stayed), then I was in seventh heaven.

The party was great, we had a marvellous nights sleep and a breakfast the next morning was sumptious. Plus, the two dogs resident dogs were as welcoming and friendly as the owners, Peter Smith and Felicity Wright.

Breakfast

They have links with Africa, so we were able to tell them about the Essaouira Festival and show some of John's recordings, which we delight in doing.

So, this was certainly money well spent and we'll certainly go back there. A 'find' is what you'd call it. Peter and Felicity chose the top of the range bed and breakfast market (the house was once a Millfield School boarding house) and I think they've done the house, which, apparently was very run-down, proud.

So, if you're looking for some-where to stay in Glastonbury, try Chindit House and get a taste of sheer luxury

Wednesday, 1 July 2009

Ishar and Abd Halim avec moi on the balcony of Restaurant Bab Laachour (which faces onto one of the venues - Moulay Hassan) on the Sunday evening, watching the final set - Hassan Boussou and Sewarye. It was the kind of music you just had to dance to, which most of us on the balcony were doing when we weren't taking photos of each other. One of the great things about the festival is that total strangers are united by music.

Well, it's difficult to know where to start with the 2009 festival because for me, this year, the main event was nothing to do with the music, although I will, of course, be writing about that, because it was pretty bloody amazing, as usual. However, the thing that just blew me away and which I still can hardly believe is all to do with THE WIRE.

ROBERT (BOB) WISDOM - BUNNY IN THE WIRE

If you're new to my blog, then you need to know that I can't praise the American Drama Series THE WIRE highly enough. It's by far the best TV drama series I've ever seen. I have the box sets for all five seasons, watched them all once, and in the case of Season 4, twice, and intend to watch them all again soon.

So, keep that in mind,(and if you're a regular reader of my blog, then you'll know just how special this is to me) when I tell you that I met and talked to the actor Bob Wisdom who played Bunny in THE WIRE.

If you're a devotee of THE WIRE, like me, then you'll know that Bunny was the police boss who, in Season 3, unofficially organised a drug buy/sell area in Baltimore where the police just let them get on with it, in an attempt (which was successful while it lasted) in keeping the lid on drug gang warfare.

And in Season 4, he was involved in trying to help the most disaffected students at High School. As was the way of things in Baltimore, the money ran out and the trial scheme was scrapped, but Bunny and his wife fostered one of the boys, Natham, which most certainly gave him new opportunities in life far removed from the drug scene.

And if you haven't watched THE WIRE, get the box sets and watch it !!!

Anyway, John had already told me that he thought he'd seen Bunny from THE WIRE and I was pretty miffed that I'd missed him. But on the way to the Moulay Hussan Square to watch Mahmoud Guinea start the festival off (after we'd taken our short cut round the side of the city walls which is far less congested than the main thoroughfares) we came onto one of the main streets which has a cafe right next to the short cut.

I had to do a double take and I called John back and whispered: 'I think that's Bunny from THE WIRE' and he said: 'Yes it is.'

Now, I wouldn't normally approach someone famous because I don't want to invade his/her privacy, but, for me, this was too special to ignore, given how much I love THE WIRE. So I did approach and say: 'Excusez-moi monsieur, but aren't you Bunny from THE WIRE?'

And he was absolutely lovely. He stood up and said: 'Yes, I am,' and I said: 'Please can I shake your hand because THE WIRE is so fantastic.' And he shook my hand and was totally generous with his time and not only patient but also most charming as I raved about THE WIRE.

Apparently, he has been to the Essaouira Gnawa and World Music Festival for the last twelve years i.e. since it started, loves Gnawa music, plays the guembri (a special guitar central to the Gnawa sound) and jams with some of the Gnawa musicians.

He is such a lovely man with a generosity of spirit that you see in the character Bunny and I was just in awe, particularly when he kissed me on both cheeks before we went on our way.

So, now I'm not just a WIRE fan, but I'm also a Bob Wisdom fan. And I can hardly believe my luck in being able to talk to him.

I asked if John could take some photos and he said that was fine. John also took a small video of us which is published below. And to my delight, the web has picked up on his name and included some short videos of Bob Wisdom in THE WIRE and a WIRE video on safe sex, all of which you can view. I should have asked him what work he's doing now but I didn't want to intrude too much on his time. So, if you see a film or TV programme with Bob Wisdom in it, please post details on my blog.

P.S. If you google Bob Wisdom's name you'll come up with loads of sites with photographs of him, details of his extensive acting portfolio and clips from his work.

THE MUSIC

Okay, so this is why we were there in the first place. I was relieved to learn that the festival was going ahead because of the world economic crisis, but it was obvious that the festival had had to scale down its 'big names'. So there was no-one like Ki-many Marley, who I'm still raving about. But the music was still very, very good.

If you want to see and hear a little of the music from the festival, just click on the playlists below. As John adds new videos to YouTube, they will appear automatically in the playlist.

This was the last set, on the Sunday evening, at Moulay Hassan. The last set is always brilliant but tinged with sadness, too, because you know the festival is about to finish,

(One plus of the down scale was that our hotel didn't have its usual first night party on the terrace with the swimming pool, which meant no extra-loud disco music blaring out and peaceful days on the terrace with none of the frantic activity of putting up and then taking down all the scaffolding and equipment. Although John and I did have a lot of fun last year watching them trying to glue down carpets.)

However, despite the scaling down, there were still nine venues for the four days of the festival, most of them outdoors, and all of them free. Plus, there were over fifty groups and individual musicians playing a wide range of music and coming from not just Morocco but all over the world.

Because of our fantastic position on our balcony, over-looking Bab Marrakesh, we watched all of the sets that were playing there. Thus we missed some acts we would have liked to have seen at Moulay Hassan, like Arrested Development, Donald Harrison and Congo Nation, all from America.

Anyway, the best, in my opinion, at Bab Marrakesh were:-

Maalem Mahmoud Guinea, Afoxi Loni and Martin Vassilev

It was great to see Mahmoud still playing so brilliantly and I spotted both his eldest son and Hussein, his apprentice, amongst the group. And they also had a young boy dancing with them: all three a welcome reminder that the Gnawa tradition is being taught to the next generation.

Blue Mogador - a young gnawa/fusion group from Essaouira, who were fantastic and had me out of my chair and dancing wildly, always a good indicator that I enjoy the music.

Hamid El Kasri & Khaled & Karim Ziad & WDR (an orchestra from Germany with a really big sound). I was absolutely bowled over last year by Hamid El Kasri (I wrote about this in my report from last year's festival) so I was really looking forward to seeing him this year.

However, although this year he and his accompanying performers were excellent, he didn't play the obviously popular songs, like Chalaba, as he did last year and so there was less audience participation. Last year he was A * plus; this year, I felt that the big band sound detracted from his own unique Gnawa sound.

Rais Brahim Assili - a Berber singer with his own group and the A*+ this year for me. I'm really looking forward to hearing this music again when John does his time-consuming editing of his tapes.

When I look at the programme, I realise how much I actually missed, so apologies to all those musicians I didn't manage to see. But I still maintain that the Western world is missing something really special by the lack of coverage of Gnawa and World music and am very thankful that I have been able to go so many of the festivals and hope to do so next year, God Willing.

ALEXANDRA RICHARDSON

Alexandra is a young music student who wants to write a paper on Gnawa music, particularly its fusion with other genres and the separation from the spiritual aspects of Gnawa. And so she contacted John i.e. daftnotstupid because she was going to be at the festival and wanted to meet up, which the three of us did at Chez Mustapha, our favourite cafe, close to Moulay Hassan Square.

So, after we had told her what we knew about Gnawa music, John asked the owner of the cafe, Hisham, if he knew any Gnawa musicians whom she could interview and by a stroke of good luck, Hisham came back shortly afterwards to tell us that there was a Gnawa musician sitting at one of the other tables, he introduced us and Alexandra got her interview there and then.

The musician in question was a young man from Essaouira called Yassine El Kanri who leads a Gnawa/fusion group called Ganga Fusion. This was all done in French, which was interesting to say the least, but I'm glad that Alexandra was able to make a start.

John and Yassine

John and Yassine

Alexandra and Yassine

Alexandra and Yassine

It's good to know that some-one intends to research Gnawa music and I hope you achieve your mission, Alexandra. Let us know how you get on.

P.S. Have listened to a track played by Ganga Fusion on their website and I'd like to hear more. There are eight players in the group and a variety of tradional and modern instruments. Definitely a group I'd like to see perform.

LOTS OF PHOTOGRAPHS HERE TO GIVE A FLAVOUR OF THE FESTIVAL AND ESSAOUIRA

Hisham, one of the waiters from the restaurant, and me on the terrace of Hotel Blue. It was Hisham who told me on the Friday morning about the death of Michael Jackson, which was a big shock. No matter how mixed up his personal life was, he was a brilliant performer. Apparently, the audience at Moulay Hassan were informed at the end of the Thursday night sets; proof, if proof were needed, that bad news travels fast.

Ishaq and Abd Halim looking suitably cool on the terrace of Bab Laachour.

Youssef, Youssef, Mohammed and Rachid plus me in the foyer of Hotel Blue.If you look carefully, you will see the chocolate remnants of the Magnum I had just eaten. I have, apparently, no shame. These guys, by the way, do their very best to keep me out of trouble. In fact, all the staff at Hotel Blue are highly professional and very friendly. It's always a pleasure to meet up with them each year.

Stephane and Epoise on the terrace of Bab Laachour. We got chatting to this charming French couple who were on the next table to us at Bab Laachour on the Sunday evening. I hope things are going well for them.

The final set at Moulay Hassan on the Sunday.

Turn your gaze to the right of the Moulay Hassan Square (from the Bab Laachour terrace)and there's the Atlantic Sea. It's a glorious sight, wild, rough and untamed.

Blue Mogador playing at Bab Marrakesh, taken from our famous balcony. (See last year's post on the festival to get the full story).

My favourite place and activity in the afternoon on the Terrace of Hotel Blue. This alien spaceship-shaped lounger, plus a similiar one, were new this year and became 'mine' for the holiday, thanks to Hisham. By the way, Hisham, I got a comment on this post from someone from America who recognised you. Apparently he/she went to school with you. Sadly, no name or address was left. Still, you're becoming quite a celebrity. (My friends think you're gorgeous).

The audience slowly building up at Bab Marrakesh, taken from our balcony.

GULLIVER TRAVELS - ONE HECK OF A LUCKY TEDDY BEAR

I bought this teddybear, Gulliver, on the flight over with Easy Jet, who are giving two free tickets each month to the person who sends in the best photograph of Gulliver in some exotic locations. So, I took loads of photos of Gulliver in different locations and here are just a few of them. Not sure which one I'll send in. I reckon that if I send one photo a month then I may just win those tickets and then we can go back to Morocco - Yeah !!!

How I pursuaded Mamadoo to pose with Gulliver on the steps leading up to Hotel Blue I'll never know. Shows just what a good sport he is.

Gulliver filming on the balcony

Lunch on the Hotel Blue terrace. Like most bears, Gulliver enjoys the occasional glass of wine with that sharp, salty taste of olives, with accompanying freshly made bread.

Gulliver managed to sneak up onto the empty stage at Moulay Hassan having sweet-talked his way past two 'security guards'. This bear certainly knows how to get around.

Cor Blimey, I've just returned from Morocco, read my e-mails and discovered that my short story The Dog in the Pram was one of the runners-up. I know how stiff the competition is that I'm up against so I'm well chuffed. That's another plus I can include in my introductory letter to the NEXT set of agents I write off to. Well,every little helps.